Strand 1: Giving and getting feedback

Where are you now?

Start with some introspection. Here are some statements to do
with how you give and get feedback now. For each
statement, decide if you agree fully with the statement, agree a bit or
don't agree. Then click on the table for some comments and
suggestions.

The idea here was not to say whether your current behaviour is in
some way 'right' or 'wrong' but to get you to think about what you do
and consider alternatives.

Obviously, even if you agreed fully with all 7 of these areas, you
can't address them all at once so you need to select one, two or three
that you think are important and skip down to the list below to find out
what targets you might set yourself to develop this area of your
teaching. Then click on the links to go further in each area.

1: I’m not always sure whether I
should correct an error, make a note for later or ignore it

Often, this is a judgement call and nobody gets it right all the
time. However, there are some ways to make our judgements more
reliable and more consistent. You need to develop a conscious
system for pausing when you hear error and considering the best way
to deal with it. It's complex and depends on a number of variables.Click here for more.

2: When my students are working
on a task I usually keep out of the way as far as I can

The issue here is one of selecting the appropriate monitoring
behaviour bearing in mind the needs of the class, the targets of the
task and its nature. There are some variables to consider and
you need to develop a conscious procedure to make the right decision
(most of the time).Click here for more.

3: I use a lot of praise such as
‘Wonderful’, ‘Terrific’, ‘Great answer’ and so on because I want to
motivate my learners

Motivation is fine but you can overdo it. This is not a
complex area to handle but you need to make a conscious decision to
alter your classroom behaviour. That isn't easy and will take
a bit of time but it can be done.Click here for more.

4: I try to avoid too much
praise and just nod or say ‘OK’ when something is correct

Nobody is asking you to suddenly change your personality and
become gushing and complimentary with your learners but you do need
to consider whether injecting a bit more enthusiasm and energy might
have a positive effect. You also need to consider the quality
of the feedback you are providing.Click here for more.

5: I usually already know the
answer to the questions I ask because I am asking them to find out
how much they understand

It looks like you need to be a bit more adventurous and get out
of your comfort zone a little more. There's also an issue here
with responding to your students as people not just language
learners.Click here for more.

6: I listen very carefully when
my students talk to me to make sure they are getting the language
right

There are, of course, times when you must do this but it is also
very important that your learners see that you are responding to
what they are saying as well as how they are saying it.Click
here for more.

7: At the end of tasks, I always
go through all the items with the whole class so people can check
how they did

There are times when this is an appropriate procedure but other
times when it slows the lesson, becomes dull and predictable and
takes the responsibility away from the learners.Click here for
some alternative ideas.

If you have another issue with giving feedback to learners that you
would like some advice about, contact
ELT
Concourse and we'll see what we can do to help.